Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group lateral rib pain - any ideas

i never used to know why, but now that i am working with a chiro, whenever my ribs really really hurt, its usually a problem where they attach at the spine and that translates all the way along the rib, even out to the front, as things don't position right, bones rub up against other bones with nerves trapped inside. finding its either where a vertebrae in my spine gets twisted / misaligned and has to be pressed gently back into position. or where the rib subluxates out from the side of the spine it should be to the other side, and again has to be gently pressed back (when that happens, a rib will get caught under my shoulder blade and nerves trapped in between and that is the worst pain i get (my body goes into "panic attacks" from the pain).

it was like that for 3-6 months the year prior to me finding my chiro, to the point that i was not working and home bound for 3 months and part of the next 3 months. the PT, rheumy, GP, physiatrists (2 of them) could not figure out what was wrong. of course no one tried to feel my back to see if they could feel the problem, not even the PT. my old PTs back in virginia probably would have found the problem as quickly as my chiro did. all one would have to do, is use one's hands and feel; my chiro found it in about 30 seconds once he started examining me. a shame i had to suffer so badly the year before, but at least i found him when i did. i was within days of having to go on disability.

and when it was the my upper ribs subluxating, i had very bad inflammation where those ribs attached out front at the sternum.

and when it was misaligned vertebrae where the lowest (floating ribs) attached, they were so inflamed right there in the front; as you described, felt like broken bones they were so painful. though of course i've never broken a bone, so that probably does feel a lot worse than what i felt.

have no idea if this is what you are experiencing. but if someone on here had put that out there as a reason for why i was in so much pain, maybe i wouldn't have had to suffer so badly that year before i met my chiro. so i make sure i always mention it as a possible reason for rib pain. as it seems to be my main reason, i'm finding.

and word of caution: not talking about chiro "back cracking". i'm simply talking about gentle pressing to get things unstuck, realigned, and moving again when things are stuck in a bad way.

hope you figure yours out and get relief soon. as i did, i'd probably try to find a good manual PT and/or a physiatrist at a pain center. the only reason i moved on to a chiro was because the PT and physiatrist couldn't even tell what the problem was, let alone treat it. but the PT and physiatrist i left back in virginia probably could have.